Even the Queen of England had a bedtime she adhered to. Royal correspondent Valentine Low’s new book shares insights about Queen Elizabeth‘s political allegiances, and one particular anecdote involves former President Barack Obama.

Barack Obama and his wife Michelle were invited to a royal dinner during a state visit in 2011. When the dinner went close to midnight, Queen Elizabeth nudged finance minister George Osborne and said, “Will you tell President Obama it’s time to go to bed?”

Michelle Obama, Barack Obama Joe Biden, Barack Obama

“I could see Obama surrounded by this big crowd,” Osbourne told Lowe in the book Power and the Palace. Am I supposed to go and tell him to go to bed? It was about midnight. And the Queen’s private secretary, Christopher Geidt, stepped in and said, ‘We are handling the situation, Chancellor.’”

Related: What Each Royal Inherited From Queen Elizabeth II After Her Death

Queen Elizabeth & Barack Obama's Relationship Before Death

Power and the Palace: The Inside Story of the Monarchy and 10 Downing Street

U.S. President Barack Obama and Queen Elizabeth II during a State Banquet in Buckingham Palace on May 24, 2011 in London, England. The 44th President of the United States, Barack Obama, and his wife Michelle are in the UK for a two day State Visit at the invitation of HM Queen Elizabeth II. During the trip they will attend a state banquet at Buckingham Palace and the President will address both houses of parliament at Westminster Hall.

The former President and the Queen had a very close friendship since he began his first term in office. When they first met in March 2009 for the G20 Summit, President Obama gifted her an iPod with some of her favorite songs. “When you meet with leaders, you exchange gifts. You never want to be out-gifted! I wanted her actually to be able to use the gift. She loved British Broadway Showtunes, and the iPod had just come out. I thought, let’s get an iPod and fill it with British show tunes. The British tabloids thought it was entirely inappropriate, but I think she used it quite a bit,” the former President said.

Royal expert Tom Quinn wrote in his book Kensington Palace: An Intimate Memoir from Queen Mary to Meghan Markle, that Queen Elizabeth had a particular fondness for the President., “after meeting Barack Obama who she completely fell in love with – she has frequently asked her courtiers if they could arrange for him to come to Britain now he is no longer president.”

At the time of her death, the Obamas made a poignant tribute to the monarch. “Michelle and I were lucky enough to come to know Her Majesty, and she meant a great deal to us. Back when we were just beginning to navigate life as President and First Lady, she welcomed us to the world stage with open arms and extraordinary generosity. Time and again, we were struck by her warmth, the way she put people at ease, and how she brought her considerable humor and charm to moments of great pomp and circumstance.